Location:Ruby
Mountain Wilderness in the Ruby Mountains, south of Elko, NevadaAccess:From
I-80 at Elko, NV, take Exit 303 and head west on Business I-80 through
Elko. (Thereís a Starbucks in the Red Lion Casino if you need it after
your long drive). Turn left (southeast) on 5th St, which becomes
Hwy 227. Head southeast on Hwy 227 through Spring Creek and Lamoille for
18 miles and turn south on Lamoille Canyon Rd (660). Head south 12.2 miles
through Lamoille Canyon to the end of the road and park.Maps:USGS
Ruby
Dome quad; USFS map Ruby Mts and East Humboldt Wildernesses,
available from any Humboldt National Forest officeTrailhead:UTM
NAD83 zone 11 637334e 4496098n 8800'Trail:The
trails are well-signed and maintained throughout, though steep in many
places. The route described below does not stick to trails the entire time.
A trip to Lake and Wines Peak via Liberty Pass is a 17.8 mile round-trip
with about 5700 ft elevation gain.Dogs:This
area would be great for dogs. I can't recall what the dog regulations
are, but I saw many canine hikers while I was there.Fees:NoneWeather:National
Weather Service ForecastSnow
Info from LMON2 Station near the trailheadSnow
map centered on Favre Lake (put in the right date)

July 31, 2009From Salt Lake City, it
took me 4.5 hours to get to the End of the Road Trailhead within the steep
rock walls of Lamoille Canyon, and I was on the trail at 12:15 under a
great, sunny sky. There were quite a few other folks around, but most were
dayhikers whom I supposed were making Lamoille Lake their destination for
the afternoon. The trail to Dollar and Lamoille Lakes was wide and well-marked,
with plenty of switchbacks to keep the grade modest up the 1500 feet to
Liberty Pass. The route began in open meadows with plenty of sun,
but then entered a fairly thick forest of limber pine as it made its way
up to the head of the wide canyon, getting closer all the time to the steep
rocky walls gouged out long ago by glaciers. After passing the Dollar Lakes,
the flowers really became noticeable, and I was pretty impressed with the
sunflowers, especially. I kept trucking up to Lamoille Lake, where two
tents and a multitude of fishermen lined the lake. Looked like a nice lake,
but I was anxious to get over Liberty Pass, so I didnít stop. The trail above Lamoille
Lake steepened considerably, and the trees petered out until it was just
open, rocky tundra. I passed by a couple of dayhikers reinforcing their
sunscreen near the top, but otherwise, the traffic really went down to
almost nothing beyond Lamoille Lake. At 1:45, I reached Liberty Pass, and
removed my pack for a few minutes of relaxation in the shade of a stunted
limber pine. It was hot, and I had to wipe sweat off my face with my bandana.
A chipmunk boldly tried invading my pack while I sat next to it, and I
had to shoo him off. Putting my pack back on pressed my cold, sweaty shirt
to my back and I grimaced at the unpleasantness.I hiked on down the far
side of Liberty Pass, enjoying the views of numerous peaks to the south.
The trail skirted around the west side of Liberty Lake as it descended,
and I saw a tent set up on the southeast edge of the lake. I reached a
trail junction: Ruby Crest Trail x Favre Lake Trail. My map showed no Favre
Lake Trail, though that was generally where I was headed, but I decided
to stick to the plan and continued south on the Ruby Crest Trail. I learned
later that the Favre Lake Trail is a short side trail that swings east
around Favre Lake and rejoins the Ruby Crest Trail further south near Kleckner
Creek.

I headed downhill through
lush grass, flowers and sparse limber pines towards Favre Lake. I took
the turnoff for the lake, and noticed a few horses grazing in the meadow
above the lake. A few guys had their tent set up not far from the Favre
Lake outlet. I passed by with a wave and hiked east along the south shore
of the lake, passing by another tent with no occupant around. I kept an
eye out for a trail up to Castle Lake, but I didnít see one, so as I neared
the eastern edge of Favre Lake, I simply turned south and headed up the
steep, heavily-wooded slope to Castle Lake.

Castle Lake is a bit smaller
than Favre Lake, but it definitely seems much shallower. There is no part
of the lake you canít see the bottom of if you stand higher up on the surrounding
cliffs. The lake sits in a great-looking cirque with barren rock walls,
topped by Lake Peak on the east side. The summit of Lake Peak is not visible
from the lake, but it is if you hike up just a bit on the western side
of the lake to get some elevation.

I poked around the wooded
northern shore and found a great spot about 50 yards from the lake amongst
a thick grove of very large limber pine to set up my tent. I tried to set
it up so that it would be shaded most of the afternoon, and thereby stay
cool in case I wanted to nap after tomorrow morningís hike. Fire rings
in the area attested to the use of this lake by campers, maybe hunters.
I unpacked my gear, hung my food and ventured down to the lake to
dip some water into my canvas bucket. I hauled that back to camp and washed
my face, arms and chest. Very refreshing. Then I grabbed my book
and settled back to rest for awhile. I hadnít been in camp more than an
hour, relaxing against a nice, sloping pine trunk, when a small buck came
walking right between me and the tent, seemingly oblivious of me, though
I know that canít be. He walked slowly through, and disappeared in the
thick willows near the lake. I noted with great pleasure that there were
no mosquitoes about at all. Not one. Very unusual. After sitting and reading
for a bit, afternoon drowsiness set in so I took a 1-hr siesta in
the tent. After a delicious nap, I got up around 5:30 and walked around
to the east side of the lake and higher up to the sound of running water.
I found a nice little waterfall with cold, clear water to filter. The lake
water probably would be just as fine, but it was quite a bit warmer than
the small stream. As I approached the water and the wet, boggy ground
around the stream, the mosquitoes came out to feed, so there are at least
some of those little buggers around. Nothing worse than being bitten
all over but having both hands occupied so you canít swat them away. I
filtered water as quickly as I could and hightailed it back to the dryer
areas around camp where there were no bugs.

I anticipated thunderstorms
in the afternoon, but the sky stayed clear. I had originally planned on
trying to climb Lake Peak from this side of the mountain, but after examining
the craggy ridge leading to it from the north, and the steep, scree-covered
slope on the west side, I decided Iíd better hike around and try it from
the south, where the slope didnít look quite so steep on the topo map.
It was 7:00 by then, which was too late to start such a hike. Instead,
I hiked up the western side of the cirque to a ridge that overlooked the
pass between Favre and Furlong Lakes. It was a steep climb up an
open slope with just a few trees scattered about, but the walk was worth
it. From the ridge, the mountains to the west were visible, including Ruby
Dome. An interesting arch in a rock fin jutting out from the ridge I stood
on framed the sunset nicely. I puttered around along the ridgeline until
after sunset, noting the fresh mountain goat droppings but seeing no goats.
I sat near the arch in the still, quiet air of evening and watched surrounding
peaks for half an hour or so, scanning for the white fleecy coats of those
elusive mountain goats, but I didnít see any. As dark descended, I scampered
back down the slope to the tent, arriving in almost complete darkness around
8:45. Bats flitted about amongst the pines. I grabbed my headlamp and washed
my socks and shirt in the water bucket, hanging them on a line strung between
two nearby trees. I slid into the small tent and read my book for
a bit before feeling cool enough to fall asleep.

August 1, 2009I set my alarm for around
5:30, but when it went off, I snoozed blissfully until 6:15 when the sun
came out. I ate some cereal at camp, packed some stuff, and left camp at
6:45. It was a clear, beautiful morning, though a bit breezy. I retraced
my steps from the prior evening up to the ridgeline west of Castle Lake,
and descended a bit on the west face, and followed it around as it curled
to the east, putting me on the south face of the slope amongst pines and
steep runs of scree. I stayed as high up on the slope as possible, often
getting chances to look over the rim down into the Castle Lake Cirque.
This was a very fun route to take, and I was glad I decided on it. I continued
as close to the rim as possible, often hiking right on the rim, until I
reached Lake Peak at 8:25. I was the only human in sight, and I spent 20
minutes enjoying the summit. The Ruby Mountains are such a narrow mountain
chain that from a high peak like this, you can see the flat valleys stretch
off both to the east and west, effectively allowing you to see the entire
mountain range from one spot. The views to the horizon were obscured, however,
by a gray haze, presumably fire smoke. I surveyed the north and east
approaches to the summit, and decided that the south approach is really
the only Class II route. For some reason there were hundreds of flies
at the summit, but I couldnít figure out what they were there for. Did
I stink that bad only one day into my trip?

I left the summit at 8:50
and headed south along the forested ridgeline towards the Wines Peak Saddle.
As the terrain flattened out between Lake and Wines Peaks, the trees ended
and I walked through an open tundra of low-growing grasses, lupines and
cushion forbs. This plain descended gradually to the west, but dropped
off precipitously to the east. It was from this direction that I heard
a clattering of soft hooves on rock and some clattering stones dropping
away. I looked over to see 2 large mountain goats nimbly leaping up the
near-vertical face of the drop to the plain behind me, and on up into the
trees towards Lake Peak. I snapped a few photographs, but I had my short
lens on and I was facing the sun to see them, so they are hardly wall-mounting
material. I was, nevertheless, pleased to see a mountain goat for the first
time.

At the lowest part of the
saddle, I took a break and sat at the overhang of the drop. I took off
my socks to dry them and removed my new super-duper insoles because the
arch support was giving my foot a blister. Moving on, I headed right
towards Wines Peak, and in the process caught a trail heading in the same
direction. The slope was minor, so the trail was easy going all the way
up. I climbed a point to the east of the trail, but when I got there I
could see it wasnít the true summit. So, I headed west to the highpoint
and reached it at 10:15. Lots of flies here, too, for some reason. I only
noticed them on the summits. It was getting very warm, and large
cumulous clouds were floating in. Just as I was leaving the summit, 2 guys
showed up from the south where they had been hiking the Ruby Crest Trail.
They were out of water and anxious to find some. I offered them some of
mine, but when they learned that ? Creek and ? Lake were just down
the trail, they said they could wait. I left them at the summit and headed
on down that way to ? Creek.

The trail slid down the grassy
tundra into the forest, and I veered off the trail to find a spot to eat
lunch at 11:15. I found a shady, grassy spot under an enormous limber pine,
and ate a nice meal of crackers, tuna, chocolate and water. While I sat
there, the two fellows I saw at Wines Peak summit passed by 200 yards away
on the trail, not seeing me. A third guy followed behind them with a dog.
Shortly after, I resumed the trail, and passed these three again at the
creek where they were filtering water.

I reached the pass over into
the next drainage, and headed down a long trail, with what seemed like
an unnecessary amount of switchbacks, to Farve Lake. At Favre Lake,
I crossed the outlet stream and headed towards the lake and then up to
Castle Lake. I reached camp at 1:15. Sweaty, salty and hot, I immediately
stripped down and took a full-body bath in the canvas bucket (How to Take
a Bath in One Gallon of Water, by Sam Cox), glancing around often to see
if anyone was coming. This is a pretty remote spot, so I didnít expect
any company. I dried off with a washcloth, and then got dressed in
nice, dry, clean-smelling clothes. I then washed my salty clothes and hung
them to dry. Big clouds rolled in, and I thought it would certainly rain,
but it did not.

I retrieved my book and sat
against a wide log to read. Contrary to my estimation that I would see
no other people up this way, three men dressed in camoflauge came stalking
through quietly with bows. I didnít think it was hunting season yet, but
maybe Nevada is different than Wyoming. I took a trip up to filter
water, and ate some more tuna and crackers (Salt!). I finished my book,
which was a bad thing, because I was too tired to attempt any more hikes
even if the weather didnít look like imminent rain. I napped about 30 minutes
to shake a minor headache, but that didnít work. I think I just lost too
much salt on the hike. It sprinkled a bit around 7:00, and the wind
blew in great gusts, but then it passed and left a hot, still evening.
I really should have brought another book. I got in the tent around 8:00
and tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

August 2, 2009I woke up at 6:00, and when
I glanced out the mosquito netting of the tent, the cirque was glowing
orange in the rising sun and looked phenomenal. I threw on my pants, shirt
and unzipped the tent with my camera in hand to trot out of the trees and
photograph the amazing light, but by the time I got in position, the thin
break in the clouds that had let the early-morning sun in had closed, leaving
the cirque in a dull, dark gray. I returned to the tent and fell back asleep.
I let myself sleep without a plan, waking only when the sun begancooking
my tent at 7:20 after it peeked above the stubborn cloud band to the east.
I ate breakfast, packed up camp and left by 7:55.

Instead of heading back the
way Iíd come in, I went around the east side of Favre Lake, staying in
the shade of the ridge and enjoying the riotous wildflowers on the steep
slope. I eventually intersected the Favre Lake Trail, and followed that
uphill to Liberty Lake, where 3 groups of backpackers had their tents pitched
around the lake. Busy place. The sun was out in full, and the day was clear
and warm. Very enjoyable. I sweated up the dusty trail to a nice perch
above Liberty Lake, took a few parting photographs, and then turned north
and slipped over Liberty Pass.

I cruised downhill quickly,
past Lamoille Lake, and into the thicker woods beyond, where I stopped
opposite one of the shallow Dollar Lakes for a snack at around 9:45. It
was a breezy morning, and in the shade where I sat, shirt soaked with sweat,
kind of chilly. I kicked off my boots and let my socks dry a bit, and closed
my eyes for a few minutes. When I opened them again, I was struck by how
much green there was all around. Green grass, green lake water, green pines,
green willows. So much green.

I hopped back on the trail
and ambled comfortably down, passing lots of hikers on their way up for
a day at Lamoille Lake, until I reached the parking lot. I threw my pack
in the car, changed shoes, and sucked down a Coke from the cooler that
was still surprisingly cold. It was still early in the day, so I prepared
my day pack for another hike, and thatís a whole other trip report, friend.

North Furlong Lake and Furlong
Creek from Wines Peak

On the trail to Wines Peak
with Lake Peak on the horizon (center right)

Wines Peak as clouds roll
in

Stalwart limber pines on
the dry slopes

The pass into the Kleckner
Creek drainage

Afternoon storms at Castle
Lake

Gleaming morning at camp
next to Castle Lake

Favre Lake

Peak 11,032 from the slopes
north of Favre Lake

Liberty Lake and Pass

In the Dollar Lakes area
up towards Liberty Pass

The trail to Liberty Pass,
Snow Lake Peak on the horizon

Looking north from Liberty
Pass and Snow Lake Peak

Liberty Lake, with Lake
Peak (left) and the tip of Wines Peak (center)

Wildflowers above Liberty
Lake

Liberty Lake

Trail down to Favre Lake

Favre Lake and Lake Peak

Peak 11,032 above Favre
Lake

Castle Lake

Castle Lake and Lake Peak

Rugged cirque above Castle
Lake

Evening on the rocks above
Castle Lake

Jagged ridgeline above Castle
Lake

Castle Lake and Lake Peak
at sunset

Castle Lake and northern
Ruby Mts at sunset

Sunset from Castle Lake,
looking west towards Ruby Dome

Arch above Castle Lake

The beautiful Castle Lake
cirque

Early morning in the Castle
Lake Cirque

Castle Arch above Castle
Lake

The view from Lake Peak:
Looking down on Castle and Favre Lakes,
with Ruby Dome on the far left

Summit of Lake Peak on a
hazy morning

Wines Peak from south face
of Lake Peak

The rocky plain between
Lake and Wines Peaks

Heading south to Wines Peak
across the barren saddle

Mountain goat encounters,
this one was the last of 3

Lupines on the flank of
Wines Peak

Lake Peak and Wines Peak
from the pass out of Furlong Creek drainageDropping down into the Kleckner
Creek Drainage